Insecurities
by eskalations
Summary: After being raised by someone who constantly brought her down, Rapunzel struggles with the many scars Gothel left behind. Based off the traits listed in "Mother Knows Best" Multi-Chapter.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This idea has been here in my head for awhile and I finally had the time to write so I figured I might as well see where it would lead. This is going to be a series of oneshots based on the song "Mother Knows Best" where she is listing all of Rapunzel's lesser qualities, well when she is just trying to put Rapunzel down more than she already has. This series contains many different characters from the movie and will revolve in the post movie world.

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, the characters and story belong to Disney.**

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><p>"Eugene!" A shrill shriek filled the halls of the palace as footsteps soon joined in the midnight clamor.<p>

"Rapunzel?" Eugene Fitzherbert ran quickly down the halls to the now found princess' room. The worried expression on his face was something that was so rare but was only brought out of him when his girlfriend's safety was, well not safe.

Six months had passed since the two had been welcomed into the castle and still he found himself getting lost on his way to her room. In his hurry he had thrown on a night shirt but hadn't bothered to fix his hair or grab something to defend the princess with. Turning corners and tripping over his long night pants multiple times, he continued to follow the shrill screams that were drawing nearer and nearer.

To be honest, the poor ex-thief had no idea what to expect when he entered the girl's room. With his imagination, he came up with scenarios such as Gothel returning or another thief coming and taking the one person he cared for away from him.

These scenes that seemed to be put on repeat in his head, kept the tired man going until he reached the young woman's door.

"Rapunzel?" He yelled again, swinging the large double doors open and quickly running inside.

The princess was tangled in her covers while clutching onto a frying pan. Her spikey brown hair was stuck up every which way and he could tell by her heavy breathing and the sweat on her forehead that despite the cold's night air she was so scared that she had become hot. The look on her face though was what had Eugene even more worried than the shrieking, his Rapunzel was sobbing.

Rushing over to the large purple bed in the middle of the room, and stubbing his big toe on one of her many paint cans, Eugene reached the trembling girl and grasped her tiny shoulders with his tan caloused hands.

"Blondie what's going on? Are you hurt? Are you in pain? Are you going blind? I knew we shouldn't have been out on the roof earlier you probably got overheated..." Eugene continued to mumble random things as he checked both of her arms for evidence of blood or any other injury. Rapunzel quickly shook off his hands and jumped into Eugene's strong arms, wrapping her tiny ones around his neck. Stumbling back, the man fell into the chair next to Rapunzel's bed.

"Oh Eugene I'm so terrified!" The girl continued to sob as Eugene awkwardly patted her back. As Flynn Rider he had never been a comforter, in fact he had never showed any compassion towards anyone. But Eugene Fitzherbert was beginning to try his best.

"Ok Blondie first you need to tell me what this is all about because quite frankly I have no clue," Looking up with big green eyes the brunette princess stared straight into his hazel ones.

Leaning in and cupping her hand to his ear, Eugene realized she was embarassed by whatever she was scared of.

"I heard something in my closet"

Resisting the urge to be witty, Eugene stared back at the trembling princess in his arms as the tears still fell from her huge eyes. "A noise?" Eugene questioned slowly while Rapunzel nodded back feverishly, "In your closet?" Clarifying the location of said noise while again Rapunzel nodded. "Rapunzel, look I don't think..."

"Please Eugene! Please will you go see what it is?" He had never seen the girl so desperate and so vulnerable looking, though he would never admit it, the look on her face and desperate pleading made his heart ache.

"Ok but if I get eaten by some crazy monster you get to explain to the kingdom that the reason I no longer grace their presense and give them something that I must say is great to look out is because..." Rapunzel was already out of his lap and pushing him towards the closet cutting him off. For such a small girl the princess held an amazing amount of strength.

"Use this," Eugene was aware of a strange object being placed in his hand, a look of shock was replaced by a dubious one as he realized it was the one that was used to knock him out, multiple times.

"Blondie there is nothing...OH MY GOSH!" Rapunzel jumped about 3 feet off the ground and climbed on the post at the end of her bed, grabbing at her heart as it threatened to pound out of her chest.

"What?" The princess trembled and clutched the post even tighter.

"There's nothing there," Eugene gestured to the inside of the closet that was littered with multiple pairs of shoes and dresses along with even more paint cans and brushes.

Wiping away the tears on her face and sliding down the post to the floor, Rapunzel glared at her boyfriend.

"Really Eugene? You just had to scare me," Eugene tried to look innocent but after seeing the glare on her face he realized that he had crossed a line.

"I'm sorry Goldie, it was too great of an oppurtunity but really there is nothing in here," Shaking her head slightly, the princess looked cautiously at her closet before letting out a deep sigh of relief.

Sitting on the floor beside her, Eugene wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders.

"Thanks Eugene," She murmured looking down at the ground sadly.

"Rapunzel, are you sure that's all you were scared of? A sound in your closet?" Eugene found it hard to believe that the brave frying pan wielding girl in front of him would have been screaming bloody murder because of some noise she had heard.

"Well...no it's embarassing," She was having conflicting emotions, the same ones she had been having since she had met him. After being exposed to this great big world she had no idea what she was to fear and what she wasn't, but looking into Eugene's usually mischievious hazel eyes and seeing the concern that was now in there gave her the confidence to share her fear.

"I was having a nightmare, and this big fuzzy thing was chasing me down the hall, his footsteps were pounding against the palace floor and he had a odd amount of eyes. He was yelling random things at me and telling me that you didn't love me and all this other stuff and then we ran into my room and he slammed the door to the closet, and then I woke up and really heard a sound in my closet, that's when I started to scream," Rapunzel's explanantion was rushed but when she was finished she realized just how silly the whole ordeal sounded.

Eugene sat quietly a second thinking about what she had just told him. Then the laughter came.

The princess' confidence was shattered as the ex-thief laughed at what had just been said.

"Rapunzel, you're talking about a monster! Those don't even exist!" The usually calm girl hit the man on the arm, hard.

"Eugene it's not funny!" Rapunzel was mad now at her boyfriend who had by now stopped laughing, realizing he had hurt her feelings. The girl turned from him crossing her arms.

"C'mon Blondie you're being immature about this, I wasn't laughing at you I just remember what it felt like to have those nightmares."  
>Immature. That had done it, he again in one night had crossed the line. Mother Gothel had used that to describe her and many other things while trying to convince Rapunzel she couldn't survive out in the world alone. Maybe she was right.<p>

Rapunzel's face contorted and suddenly she was sobbing as she did before, but this wasn't out of fear, this was out of betrayel and lies, years worth of lies.  
>Eugene again began to panic as he tried to grab a hold of his girfriend but she just pushed him away.<p>

"That's what you think I am? Immature? How could you even..." The princess continued to sob as she stood up and paced pulling at the short strands of chestnut hair.

The ex-thief scolded himself in his mind for being so insensitive. Rapunzel was fragile, like a porceline doll, and he had as good as shattered her with one single word. When did he get so stupid? At a lost for what to do he stood up and wrapped an arm around her waist, stopping her from the frantic pacing.

"Rapunzel look at me!" The girl continued to push against him, trying to get out of his vise-like grip but soon gave up her head falling as she stared at her bare toes.  
>As gently as he could, Eugene lifted the girl's chin so that he could look into her beautiful green eyes.<p>

"You're not immature Rapunzel, I was just being my witty self as usual." The tears continued to fall from her eyes, and tentively the ex-thief whiped them from her cheeks, his inner Flynn Rider gaging at the show of affection.

"Yes I am..." She mumbled burying her face in his chest, leaving a tear stain on his shirt.

"Now whoever told you that?" Eugene asked as calmly as he could gently patting her head with his free hand.

Inside the anger was slowly boiling to the top. Who could ever tell this amazing girl she was less than she was. And that's when it hit him.

"It was Gothel wasn't it?" Rapunzel nodded and a new set of tears began. Eugene gently picked up the crying princess and cradled her to his chest as he walked back over to the chair he had sat in earlier.

"Blondie..." Sitting down, Eugene shifted Rapunzel so that she was sitting more comfortably and she wrapped her tin arms around his tanned neck. "You shouldn't be effected by what she says, she said all those things to upset you, they wern't true!"

"But Eugene that's the point! She did it all on purpose! To hurt me!" The tiny girl was again sobbing as he held to her tightly.

"You know what that is Rapunzel?" He didn't wait for an answer as she continued to cry into his neck. Eugene grabbed her face gently and brought it to where her forehead was resting against his. For the third time that night he felt his heart break for he could even smell the tears that peppered her face along with her loveable freckles.

"That's immaturity, that's childish, not you that was all Gothel. She was the one who choose to be insecure and make others feel bad about themselves so she could feel better. You're not like that Rapunzel you know that," He brought his hands to rest against her cheeks as his fingers seemed to follow their own accord and whiped every single tear from her face. Rapunzel looked at him her breath still quick because of the earlier crying episode, but her green eyes stared into his with understanding.

"I believed her." Those three words in one sentence caused Eugene to shake his head as he kissed the princess delicately on the nose and giving her a charming smile.

"I know you did, but like all her other lies there is no truth to that one either," The princess smiled at her boyfriend. "Thanks Eugene, for everything, for saving me from her and finally making me see the light," Rapunzel smiled at him while the young man laughed slightly.

"That sounded extremely cheesy," Both laughed at eachother before quieting down and lovingly looking at the other.

"Oh I know, but I meant it," With that Rapunzel kissed the ex-thief gently upon the lips then settled down on his chest curling up her legs and putting her arms around them. Eugnene's strong arm's wrapped around the tiny girl keeping her safe from any of her fears.

Despite her cheery personality, Rapunzel had been damaged in many ways. But outshining her other qualities, Eugene found her emotional strength the most admirable.

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><p><strong>AN#2:** It's hard to kepp Eugene in character when he is being comforting because he never showed that side of him as Flynn Rider so I'm sorry if him or Rapunzel seem way OOC.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** _I'm not very proud of this chapter, but I had to write something. Also the reason Eugene calls Rapunzel "Blondie" still is because I think despite her haircolor he would always call her that as a pet name. No she did not dye her hair. I hope this is ok, please make sure to review. Also Chapter 1 revolved around the trait of immaturity._

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Clumsy<strong>

"1...2...3" Rapunzel moved her feet slowly as she counted quietly outloud. Her feet were dancing to a rythmn that wasn't there but that she was imagining in her head.

The princess had just gotten out of her ballroom dancing lessons, it had been two months since she had started them when she returned to that castle yet she never could seem to get the steps right. Her feet were always stumbling over one another causing her to trip and fall.

Rapunzel thought that because her hair was gone she would be able to dance more freely without getting tangled up in it, but still with the short, spikey brown hair on top her head she just couldn't seem to balance right.

There was a ball in two weeks, and as it drew near, Rapunzel became more and more nervous of what was to come. Her Father and Mother had told her she would have to dance with some of the noblemen who arrived, and what if she accidently stepped on their toes?

Feet patted against the tile floor, and the sound rang throughout the Princess' bedroom. Becoming excited,  
>the girls face broke out into a grin as she began to do the steps at a faster pace, closing her emerald eyes and dancing to the imaginary song playing in her head.<p>

Just as suddenly as the seemingly magical moment had began it ended with a loud thud as the dancing princess once again fell onto the hard tile floor.

"Why can't I do this right?" Rapunzel grabbed at the air beside her ear where a strand of hair always used to be, but now her hand came down with nothing in its grasp.

"You know Blondie that's not really how that dance is suppose to end?" The familiar voice came from her now opened doorway, where Eugene Fitzherbert stood himself, clothed in a slick black vest and pants, his old white undershirt, and sleek black boots. The smirk that was on his face sure didn't help Rapunzel's mood.

"Yes Eugene I happen to be aware of that, too aware of that," The Princess hurriedly got off the floor and dusted off her emerald dress, so much like the old one she used to wear in the tower.

"Rapunzel you know..." Eugene could tell for weeks that this dancing buisness had been bugging her, he just didn't know how to address the problem. Rapunzel rarely got upset, she was usually a ray of sunshine, but her determination got in the way of her happiness occasionally.

"No Eugene, I have to try this again," Now counting in her head, the princess once again recited the steps she had been practicing for so long, and as Eugene watched her move as graceful as a swan so much like that day when they saw the lanterns he realized the problem.

Rapunzel had her head slightly tilted one way, causing her to lean that way, the way her hair used to be set. When she reached a certain step in the dance, she was leaning to far one way when she should be leaning another. That's when the princess would trip and fall, causing her to look absolutely discouraged upon hitting the floor.

"Why can't I do this right?" Rapunzel exclaimed once again and as before out of nervous habit grabbed the air beside her head, the motion broke the ex-thief's heart as she dropped the empty shand to her side.

"Here Blondie let me help," Rapunzel looked up at him strangely then at her bare toes stretched out in front of her.

"I don't need help," The princess mumbled trying to stand up but tripping over her dress. Eugene walked over and held out his tanned hand to her.

"You don't need it, but I want to give it," The man smiled encouragingly down at his girlfriend as she reached timidly towards his hand, grasping it as he pulled her off the ground.

"What you need, is a dance partner," With that Eugene grasped both of her tiny hands within his larger ones, he dropped one and slowly wrapped it around her waist, pulling her close to him and holding it tightly. Rapunzel placed her now free hand upon his broad shoulder and looked down dubiously at her bare feet.

"You know princess if you look down your sure to fall," Eugene watched as she slowly brought her eyes to look into his, green meeting hazel, both holding love for the other.

"You wouldn't let me fall, now would you good sir?" Rapunzel asked mockingly, quirking one of her eyebrows at him. The old Blondie was returning slowly as her confidence began to grow once again.

"Oh princess, I would not dream of it!" Eugene slowly began to recite the steps he had learned so long ago when he was young in the orphanage. The boy had actually been an excellent dancer, ofcourse though he would never admit that.

Rapunzel was also reciting the steps in her head, trying to keep her face from looking down and messing her up, she kept her eyes looking straight on Eugene.

Her dance partner though realized that once again she was tilting herhead slightly and thats when one light little foot stepped on his toes, barely feeling any pressure at all.

Rapunzel realized that she had stepped on his toes and quickly realeased her hold on him.

"Eugene! I'm so sorry! I can't believe I just stepped on your toes, she was right I'm nothing but a klutz! I'm too clumsy for my own good!" The frusterated princess flopped face first onto her bed and covered her head with those tiny arms of hers.

Eugene quickly walked over to her side, grasping her shoulders. "Rapunzel you know just as well as I that you are not a klutz and you are not clumsy."

"No that's not true I just hurt you!" Now the ex-thief realized that the poor girl was crying into her bed covers.

"What? Blondie I didn't feel a thing!" The man was at a loss, why was this such a big deal for her?

"You're lying."

"No I'm not Rapunzel, I may have been a thief but I am no liar," Eugene was being truthful enough, ofcourse he had been a bit of a compulsive liar as a child but she didn't have to know that.

Sniffling the frusterated princess sat up, her emerald eyes looked into his, seeing if he was telling the truth.

"Rapunzel the problem is your tilting your head, it's still not use to the lost of weight from when I cut your hair," He murmured quietly, tan fingers gently caressing the brunettes short locks, his face held a pained expression as he realized that he was the one causing her this frustration.

The princess looked at her boyfriend curiously thinking about all the steps she had done, slowly though she realized that he was right. Wiping the tears from her eyes, the girl began to blush.

"Oh, I see," Eugene smiled as Rapunzel twirled one of her short pieces of hair. Grasping her hand in his the man pulled the girl off the bed and back onto the tile.

"Trust me," He whispered as Rapunzel looked doubtfully at her feet. They resumed the positions that had been minutes ago, except the princess now was slightly shaking scared of messing up yet again.

Eugene began the steps and the second Rapunzel began to tilt her head he gently tilted upright with one of his tanned hands.

Rapunzel from then on refused to dance with anyone but Eugene.

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><p><strong>AN#2:** _Please Review?_


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry this is short, but Happy Father's Day everyone! This one doesn't go with just one word from "Mother Knows Best" it uses multiple ones, this doesn't count for the individual chapters thought that I plan on writing later. This just came to me because I really did want to write something special for Father's Day and I figured Rapunzel would struggle adapting to the fact she had a Father, something that she probably didn't know existed or had always wondered about. I hope you enjoy this though!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Disney.

Rapunzel's hands gripped the plate filled with breakfast foods tightly, her knuckles turning pale along with her usually cheerful face. She was nervous.  
>Today was a day that she had never celebrated, she had never knew it existed, until Eugene had told her yesterday afternoon. Was she going about this right? Would he enjoy his surprise?<p>

"What am I doing?" The princess whispered to herself, sitting down on the cold tile floor beside the big double doors. Placing the plate down on the ground, she shakily ran her fingers through the spikey brown hair atop her head.

It had only been a year, a year since she had been welcomed into a loving home, into society, into the life that she was meant to be living, yet Rapunzel still found herself plagued with insecurities, and the fear of doing something wrong.

Never had she had two loving parents, she hadn't even had one now that she looked back at it. Mother's wern't meant to knock you down, they were meant to help you back up. The other figure besides her real mother that had been welcomed into her life though, was a father.

Rapunzel always wondered what had happened to her's, had he been killed in some great battle, or had he ran off? The questions used to plague her as a young girl, in her dreams, but they would soon turn into nightmares.

Still the princess struggled to make things right, learn more about the two people who she should have known her whole life.

Today was Father's Day. All she had time to do was make a breakfast that despite Eugene's approval probably tasted disgusting.

Rapunzel had watched her Father carefully since being welcomed into the castle, she desperately wanted to observe this creature that was classified as a Father, but her's was much more he was also a King. The King of Corona.

The King turned out to be relatively quiet yet he was always firm and fair. Occasionaly Rapunzel would actually find the soft spoken man struggling for words around certain people just as she has found herself doing. His eyes gleamed with a kindness that couldn't be met, not even with the princess' cheerful demeanor.

"I just want him to like it," Rapunzel mumbled defeatedly, burying her face into her shaking hands and taking a deep breath trying to find the courage to stand and open the doors to his office.

Suddenly the girl heard words she hadn't heard in a year, words that were meant for discouragment.

"Naive," A soft voice spoke, but Rapunzel didn't miss the harsh undertone to it. That voice she had heard for years was coming back to her, and suddenly she grabbed the plate from the floor.

"Vague," With this next word the princess shakily stood up, gripping the wall for support.

"Clumsy," With this next word the girl stuck out her free hand to the handles on her Father's study's doors.

"Chubby," With that last word, Rapunzel found the courage to push open the doors in front of her, breaking through that wall that for so long held her back.  
>The King's eyes raised to his daughter at first shocked, but then the blue orbs spotted the plate in her hand. The smile on his face, said enough, and without words from the Father that loved her so, Rapunzel found the courage to say the words she had wanted to say since she woke up this morning.<p>

"Happy Father's Day, Daddy."

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><p>AN: Please Review, and if you havn't already read the other chapters:)


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